« Diria | Home | Puntarenas »
Ostional
By admin | March 3, 2008
Ostional was established as a refuge to protect the olive ridley turtles that nest on this shore. The most important nesting area stretches from a place known as La Roca to the Ostional estuary. In addition to the olive ridley, which nests in the refuge year-round, giant leatherback and green turtles nest from September to February, as well as the occasional hawksbill. Olive ridleys can lay more than 100 eggs each on the refuge’s beaches. Once a year, a phenomenon called la arribada (“the arrival”) occurs between September and November. For three to seven days, hosts of olive ridleys descend upon the refuge to lay thousands of eggs. In order to make reasonable use of this resource, the law permits eggs to be taken from Ostional for commercial purposes. This activity is coordinated with the Ostional Development Association, as are guided turtle-watching tours.
Topics: Guanacaste, National Parks |